i've owned both ;)
Fireball:
Very tight and crunchy sounding, have heard it in a band mix directly after a 5150II and it BLEW the Peavey away.. same guitar, same cab, same player, he just (having NEVER played through a Fireball before) plugged it in, set the controls quickly and nearly shat himself with the difference over the Peavey.
It was a very nice amp, the shared gain\eg didnt really matter as the clean stayed clean with the gain up to about half (or just over) and that meant the gain channel was more than crunchy enough!
Very good for palm muted chugs and fast riffs etc, stays clear and tight doesnt get mushy at all.
Make no mistake, its a proper metal amp, yes it can do hard rock and heavy metal and in between if you fiddle with the gain dial, but its aimed at stuff like Metallica up to extreme death metal type affairs, and it delivers!
Screamer:
Alot more versatile, has 4 different sounds, it isnt quite as ultra tight and chunky as the Fireball, but it can still get you into metal heaven.. stick a clean boost in front and its just as brutal as the Fireball!
Is good for overdriven blues type tones aswell as classic rock and extreme stuff, as the levels of gain can be turned on and off in stages (clean > clean 'heavy' > lead > lead heavy kinda thing) and the footswitch lets you engage any combo\sound without needing to fiddle with the amp itself. Plus it has 2 master volumes so you can set a solo boost volume level.
Its not as 'plug and play' as the Fireball though.
Basically =
If you want a balls out awesome metal amp, and dont need to have ultra lush cleans or endless buttons then the Fireball will do you proud. I thought it was like a 'metal' JCM800...not in the SOUND but in the fact you plug in and crank and get amazing tones straight away ;)
If you want a more versatile amp that is happy with classic rock,blues and metal, and you need to be able to switch between the sounds easily then the Screamer is great. It has THAT ENGL gain sound but is more than just a metal amp.
Why did i sell my Fireball?
It was my only amp and i wanted something in a combo form as i only play at home\in my garage. I only want one amp, and the Screamer is a good compromise between the simple hard rock of the Thunder and the balls out metal of the Fireball.
If i ever get to play in a band or have my own place where i can properly crank when i play, id buy a Fireball again in a heartbeat, and keep the Screamer aswell.
If i had £2000 to spend on amps id STILL pick the Fireball over anything like a Bogner, Poweball, Diezel, 5150 etc, those have far too many options and buttons!
Id get a Fireball, a decent cab, and a Budda Superdrive ;)
Hope that helps... :D
